Blacklight
The High Privacy Cost of a “Free” Website
Trackers piggybacking on website tools leave some site operators in the dark about who is watching or what marketers do with the data
Mia Sato
Audience Engagement Editor
Mia worked to get our stories into the hands of people most affected by the reporting. She was especially interested in identifying and serving the needs of marginalized communities and creating pathways for readers to access, read, and inform The Markup’s reporting. Mia left The Markup in November 2020.
Before The Markup, she was the engagement editor at the Better Government Association based in Chicago, where she led engagement efforts and audience-driven reporting. Her work has appeared in The Verge, Chicago Magazine, and elsewhere.
Google the Giant
Google’s Top Search Result? Surprise! It’s Google
The search engine dedicated almost half of the first page of results in our test to its own products, which dominated the coveted top of the page
Banned Bounty
Amazon’s Enforcement Failures Leave Open a Back Door to Banned Goods—Some Sold and Shipped by Amazon Itself
The online giant bans products related to drugs, spying and weapons, but we found plenty for sale; one of the items bought on the site left a grim trail of overdoses
Locked Out
Access Denied: Faulty Automated Background Checks Freeze Out Renters
Computer algorithms that scan everything from terror watch lists to eviction records spit out flawed tenant screening reports. And almost nobody is watching
Coronavirus
How Unemployment Systems Are Failing Workers Around the Nation
Long wait times, passwords sent by mail, and shutdowns thwart applicants
Coronavirus
Can You Get a Coronavirus Test? It May Depend on Where You Live
Five scenarios that show the differences in states’ testing algorithms
Google the Giant
Swinging the Vote?
Google’s black box algorithm controls which political emails land in your main inbox. For 2020 presidential candidates, the differences are stark.
Allstate’s Algorithm
Suckers List: How Allstate’s Secret Auto Insurance Algorithm Squeezes Big Spenders
Insurers are supposed to price based on risk, but Allstate’s algorithm put a thumb on the scale